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The Book of Hours #Romantic #Suspense / #Thriller

Please welcome Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra and her contemporary romance suspense novel, The Book of Hours

Blurb

For artist Gabriela Martinez, psychopaths do strike twice. In The Coin, two star-crossed lovers were cruelly used by fate—and now, in The Book of Hours, destiny isn’t done.

Back then, Gabriela almost lost her life to a psychopath hoping to claim her artwork, her career, her body, and her love. If not for Richard, the operative sent to protect her, she would have fallen victim to his twisted vision. The dramatic showdown pushed Gabriela and Richard together, even in the face of countless obstacles.

With someone new threatening Gabriela’s life, Richard will risk everything to protect the woman he loves. But with a new villain on the horizon, bent on possessing Gabriela’s latest work no matter what it takes, she is forced to fall back on old friends, including the man who changed her life not so many years ago.

With an even more dramatic threat looming, and far more to lose, if they don’t stay one step ahead of the danger, their lives, their love, and their future may very well go up in flames.

Slowly, like a man walking toward an uncertain destiny, Richard stepped over the threshold, walking in the general direction Spike had pointed. His heart shuddered from the tension, and he rubbed his thumb over his scar in a pacifying gesture. He scanned the terrace, hardly absorbing details. His senses suddenly sharpened when he caught movement on the far right. There. There she was, at the far corner near the railing, her back to him, concentrating as she dabbed at a canvas with a brush thick with oil paint. She was wearing baggy carpenter dungarees, a soft-blue Madras shirt that floated carelessly in the breeze and covered her white spandex tube top. She was slimmer than he remembered, her rich Burgundy-hued hair even longer, held carelessly in a ponytail, feathery wisps escaping the clip to tickle her face.

He stepped closer, hearing the music hovering over the terrace, her husky alto humming in tandem with the Latin American artist singing soulfully from a CD. The kick in the gut was swift, brutal. Talk about déjà vu. Like the first time they’d met, he thought, and yet so different. Unlike their first encounter, he now had the flavor of her imprinted on his DNA. His memory, once more, effortlessly supplied the scent of her, the smoothness of her skin, her mouth, and her body, the feel of her silken hair on his chest. Like a sleepwalker, Richard silently crossed over the flagstones, practically devouring the sight of her. And as he shortened the distance between them, Richard had his final answer. He would never be able to sate his thirst for this woman. She offered light to his darkness, fullness to his emptiness, her saving grace for his battered, lost soul. His face altered, thinking back to the years wasted. He’d never make the same mistake again. This time he wouldn’t step aside like the altruistic hero he’d played four years back. He’d get downright mean and dirty in his fight for her. The stakes were no longer the same.

Maria Elena Alonso-Sierra is a full-time novelist based in North Carolina. With Cuban roots, she has lived in many countries, including France, the setting for her first novel, The Coin. She speaks English, Spanish, French, Italian, and German, and reads Latin, Middle English, and old French. She holds a Masters in English literature, specializing in medieval romances, and is currently an active member of the Carolina Romance Writers. She loves to hear from her readers, and always hopes to open a dialogue with her fans.